Taxonomy of meanings for 下:　　

Additional information about 下

說文解字: 【丅】，底也。指事。 〔小徐本作「底也。從反丄爲丅。」〕 【胡雅切】 【下】，篆文丅。

Criteria
• SURRENDER
  

  1. The current general word for any form of submitting to someone or surrendering to the enemy is fú 服.

  2. Xiáng 降 refers specifically to forced, non-voluntary surrender to an enemy.

  3. Xià 下 is a neutral technical term for giving up fighting in a military context.

  4. Chéng 成 and jiǎng 講 refer to a formal process of sueing for peace.

• RISE
  

  1. The most current general word for rising or raising oneself up, or rising to an upright position of any kind is qǐ 起 (ant. jiàng 降 "go down").

  2. Shēng 升 (ant. xià 下 "go down") refers specifically to the rising of something to a higher level, and these levels can be but do not have to be the ranks of a hierarchy.

  3. Jìn 進 (ant. tuì 退 "be demoted") refers specifically to the rising in the ranks of a hierarchy.

  4. Jìn 晉 is a very formal term referring to the rising of something in the ranks of a hierarchy.

• SUBJECT
  

  1. The current general word for a subject is chén 臣.

  2. Xià 下 is used in elevated court language to refer to subjects.

• CHINA
  

  睡虎地秦墓竹簡 1978: 226 臣邦人不安秦主而欲去夏者, 勿許. 何謂夏 ? 欲去親屬是謂夏.

  The words for China have this in common that they do NOT designate any one state. 中國 "the central states" is implicitly plural when it does not refer to the capital city. 諸夏 the various Xià (states)" is explicitly plural. The standard Imperium Romanum has no counterpart in Chinese until very late, unless one admits 天下 "all under Heaven" as a designation for the empire. But 天下 does not define any bounded empire. It remains to be seen exactly when a standard term for China was took shape. Compare the problems of finding a term for the Chinese language.

  Based on 顧頡剛 & 王樹民, “ 夏 ” 和 “ 中國 ”— 祖國古代的稱號, Zhongguo lishi dili luncong, Vol. 1 (Xi'an, 1981), 6-22).

  In the Shu and Shi sections relating to the early Zhou, 區夏 (= 夏區 ), 有夏 and 時夏 (= 是夏 ) refers to the place in which the Zhou established their capital after their conquest of Shang, in contradistinction to Zhou 掇 homeland in the West ( 西土 ) and the close Zhou allies ( 一二邦 ). The Zhou referred to their own domain as 烠 he central city-state � ( 中國 ). Since 中國 in this usage refers to the territory directly governed by the Zhou, it is singular and used in exchange with 京師 and in contradistinction with 四方 and 四國. Other states also referred to their capital regions as 啎什縕 (thus Wu in GY 19.09.01/618); a (perhaps late) variant of this word is 啎尹塹 (Yugong).

  After becoming strong, the states enfeoffed by Zhou asserted the community with the 周 by commencing to refer to themselves as 堔 L �, leading to the plural designation 埣悎 L �, used in contrast with designations like 啈 i 狄�. The distinction between the two groups was viewed as cultural, and its precise reference shifted over time, originally excluding states (like 楚 ) from the community of 諸夏 but later including them, or including them in the beginning, whilst later excluding them (like 秦 ). Some of the non- 諸夏 states were viewed as subservient to 諸夏 states, others as their enemies. The membership of 楚 to the 諸夏 circle was always insecure; it was, so to speak, was"always on probation.

  The 東夏 made up a subdivision of the 諸夏, including states such a 齊 and 魯.

  In parallel with the 堔 L � appellations arose the 埽寊 appellations, 埽寊 on its own and 埣捄寊, and, the two words may well be cognate, the common 埽堮 L �.

  In the Warring States period the cultural distinction gave way to a geographical distinction, and the 中國 states were now the state occupying the Central Plain

• WORLD
  

  1. The current term for the inhabited sublunar world on earth (often particularly that part of it which is populated or at least dominated by the Han/華夏 people) is tiān xià 天下 "All under Heaven". Compare the Greek oikoumenē.

  2. Hǎi nèi 海內 refers to what is surrounded by the four seas, i.e. the whole of the land mass of the world.

  3. Sì hǎi 四海 "the Four Seas" includes the landmass between these Four Seas. (The names of these Four Seas are not entirely clear. Perhaps the Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western Seas.)

  4. Liù hé 六合 refers to everything in all dimensiones east, west, south, north, below, above.

  5. Shì 世 sometimes refers to the world as it is now, the world one lives in.

  6. Jiǔ zhōu 九州 refers to the nine regions of the world.

• NEAR
  

  1. The dominant general word is jìn 近 (ant. yuǎn 遠 "far") which refers to any concrete or abstract proximity in space, time or quality.

  2. Jī 幾 typically refers to an abstract closeness or relatedness with relates neither to space nor to time.

  3. Pò 迫 and "precariously close" refer to spatial proximity of a potentially dangerous kind.

  4. Bó 薄 "very close" refers to spatial proximity primarily but is occasionally used in transferred metaphorical senses to refer to abstract proximity.

  5. Lín 鄰 is permanent geographical proxity.

  6. Eψ 邇 is an archaic and elevated general term for closeness.

  7. Proximity to a city can be expressed by the "postposiiton" xià 下.

• DESCEND
  

  1. The current word for descending is jiàng 降 (ant. shēng 升 "ascend", dēng 登 "ascend").

  2. Xià 下 (ant. shàng 上 "ascend") sometimes refers colourlessly to something moving downwards.

• BEAUTIFUL
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

• EXCELLENT
  

  1. The standard current general word for anything or anyone who naturally meets certain generally accepted high standards of excellence is liáng 良 (ant. liè 劣 "inferior").

  2. Shàn 善 (ant. zhuó 拙 "inept"), when the word does not mean moral goodness, but is close in meaning to liáng 良, refers to an acquired specific skill or propensity for certain forms of action.

  3. Jīng 精 (of general application) (ant. cū 粗 "of only rough quality") and ruì 銳 (typically applied to military prowess) (ant. dùn 鈍 "of lesser quality") refer to above-average performance without suggestion individual excellence.

  4. Yōu 優 (ant. liè 劣 "inferior") and cháng 長 (ant. duǎn 短 "of lesser quality") refers to a distinct advantage in excellence compared with some reference group or some point of reference.

  5. Gōng 工 (ant. yú 寙 "fumbling, inept") is to be specialised in something concrete or even professional in an area, typically a craft.

  6. Jiā 佳 (ant. xià 下 "inferior in quality") implies manifestly recognised striking excellence regarding such qualities such as beauty or moral cultivation.

  7. Měi 美 (ant. è 惡 "of bad quality") when it does not have its standard meaning "beauty" indicates striking or admirable high quality of anything concrete or abstract.

  8. Jiā 嘉 (ant. yōng 庸 "mediocre") refers to manifestly recognised striking excellence, typically of an abstract kind.

  9. Zhǐ 旨 (ant. báo 薄 "of slight quality") refers specifically to excellence in the quality of wine, and sometimes to other foodstuffs.

  10. Jùn 駿 (ant. nú 駑 "miserable hag") refers specifically to excellence in horses, and by extension occasionally serves as metaphoric for outstanding personalities.

• HIGH
  

  1. The manifestly dominant general word is gāo 高 (ant. bēi 卑 "low" and xià 下 "low") which refers to concrete as well as abstract elevation.

  2. Shàng 上 (ant. xià 下 "lower") refers to the relatively high position of something, both abstractly and concretely.

  3. Chóng 崇 (ant. bēi 卑 "lowly") and lóng 隆 (ant. wū 污 ) adds the notion of impressiveness to that of high elevation.

  4. Qiáo 喬 refers specifically to the imposing tallness of trees.

  5. Jùn 峻, wéi 巍, yán 巖, é 峨 are among the large number of poetic words referring to the imposing height of mountains.

  6. Wēi 危 adds to the notion of the imposing (almost threatening) hight of something that of steepness of the slope, and the difficulty of access.

  7. Lóng 隆 refers to imposing and impressive height, typically - but not always - of something artificial.

• ASCEND
  

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [[BASIC/DERIVED]]

  [DIFFICULT/EASY]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  1. Shēng 升 (ant. jiàng 降 "descend") is perhaps the most general word dedicated to the meaning of "going up", and the word often has a literary, dignified flavour.

  [GENERAL]; [[BASIC]], [[CURRENT]]

  2. Shàng 上 (ant. xià 下 "descend"), on the basis of the general meaning "above", comes to refer to the moving to the position on top of or above something else, and the word has no elevated literary flavour.

  [GENERAL]; [[CURRENT]], [[DERIVED]]

  3. Dēng 登 refers to one entering a vehicle or moving onto a higher surface of any kind, typically (but not always) in a dignified manner.

  [ELEVATED!]; [[CURRENT+]]

  4 Pān 攀 refers to an arduous movement across difficult terrain to a higher position, supporting oneself by objects that one can hold on to as one is moving upwards.

  [DIFFICULT+], [LITERAL]; [[BASIC]], [[CURRENT]]

  5. Yuán 緣 refers to an often arduous movement in difficult "terrain" and guided by certain features of that terrain.

  [DIFFICULT]; [[DERIVED]]

  6. Chéng 乘 refers to the mounting of a vehicle, specifically.

  [SPECIFIC]; [[CURRENT]]

  7. Jī 躋 refers to ascending a burial mound as part of ritual.

  [ARCHAIC], [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

  8. Zhì 陟 "poetic: scale a mountain" (ant. jiàng 降 "descend") is a rare archaising words with highly restricted usage.

  [ARCHAIC], [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jí 即 (ant.* xùn 遜 "resign a ruler's position", or perhaps also shàn 禪 "resign the throne") is always metaphorically "ascend (the throne)".

  [SPECIFIC]; [[CURRENT]], [[DERIVED]]

• BAD
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/INFORMAL]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  1. The most general word for what is inferior and not commendable, morally, aesthetically or otherwise, is è 惡 (ant. měi 美 "commendable"), but this word is also used to refer more specifically to wickedness. See WICKED

  [GENERAL]

  2. Xià 下 (ant. shàng 上 "superior") is a colourless general way of referring to something being inferior to something else (which may or may not be specified) in any sense.

  [GRADED]

  3. Liè 劣 (ant. yōu 優 "of higher quality") refers quite generally to inferior quality, but the word is not very frequent in pre-Buddhist Chinese.

  [HIGH-DEGREE]; [[RARE]]

  4. Nú 駑 and the rarer tái 駘 (all ant. jùn 駿 "superior horse") refer specifically to inferior horses, and in a rather pictoresque metaphorical way these terms are sometimes used to refer to men of inferior quality.

  [ELEVATED], [SUBJ=HUMAN]; [[RARE]]

• ALL
  

  [ADNOMINAL/ADVERBIAL]

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [COLLECTIVE/INDIVIDUAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [OBJECT-BINDING/SUBJECT-BINDING]

  1. Jiē 皆 the most common and general colourless subject qunatifier which is also used, occasionally as an object quantifier.

  SUBJECT-BINDING!; [padV]

  2.Jìn 盡 is a universal object quantifier which indicates that the action the transitive verb it precedes applies to the whole lot of the objects of that verb indiscriminately.

  [OBJECT-BINDING!], [COLLECTIVE]; [vadVt]

  3. Gè 各 quantifies by emphasising the separate features of each item quantified over.

  [INDIVIDUAL], [SUBJECT-BINDING]; [n+Vt]

  4. Jiān 兼 is an object quantifier which says that the transitive verb it precedes applies to each of the objects in its own right.

  [OBJECT-BINDING], [INDIVIDUAL]; [vadVt]

  5. Qún 群 is a quantifier which indicates that the whole of the flock or group of items designated by the noun it precedes are referred to

  [COLLECTIVE]; [nadN]

  6. Zhū 諸 is an adjectival quantifier which indicates that the whole group of the things indicated by the noun it precedes is referred to.

  [COLLECTIVE]; [padN]

  7. Zhòng 眾 is an adnominal quantififier which says that the whole of the group of things designated by the noun it precedes are intended.

  [COLLECTIVE]; [nadN]

  8. Fán 凡 characterises a topic adnominally as forming the general subject or topic in a non-narrative statement of principle. The current gloss "in general" is misleading because it wrongly suggests that there are exceptions, and because it does not specify the non-narrative "theoretical" nature of the statements introduced by the word. "In principle" is much to be preferred.

  [SPECIFIC]; [vadN[TOPIC]]

  9. Jù 俱 / 具 is a collective subject quantifier which says that all the subjects are equally and together characterised by what is in the predicate.

  [SUBJECT-BINDING]; [vadV]

  10. Fàn 氾 quantifies generally over all objects of the verb it precedes.

  [COLLECTIVE], [OBJECT-BINDING]; [vadVt]

  11. Fàn 汎 says that a verb has a whole range of objects, indiscriminately, and without reference to their specific character.

  [COLLECTIVE], [OBJECT-BINDING]; [padVt]

  12. Měi 每 mostly adnominal and emphasises that a each and every new item quantified over is separately intended.

  [INDIVIDUAL]; [padN]

  13. Jūn 均 / 鈞 expresses universal quantification over all subjects equally, without any difference.

  [INDIVIDUAL], [SUBJECT-BINDING]; [vadN]

  14. Zhōu 周 is a rare object quantifier claiming that all the objects of a verb are intended, without exception.

  [COLLECTIVE], [OBJECT-BINDING]; [vadVt]

  15. Xī 悉 mass object qunatifier which says that the transitive verb it precedes applies to the whole of the objects indiscriminately.

  [COLLECTIVE], [OBJECT-BINDING]; [vadVt]

  16. Xián 咸 is an archaic subject quantifier which came to new life in Han times.

  [INDIVIDUAL], [SUBJECT-BINDING!]; [vadV]

  17. Bì 畢 a subject quantifier which says that the predicate applies to all subjects.

  [ADVERBIAL]; [SUBJECT-BINDING]; [RARE]

  18. Jǔ 舉 is an adjectival quantifier of limited idiomatic use indicating that all the things in a certain area are referred to.

  [ADNOMINAL]; [COLLECTIVE]

  19. Wú bù 無不 is a neutral subject and object quantifier.

  20. Mò bù 莫不 is a neutral subject quantifier.

  [PREVERBAL]; [SUBJECT-BINDING]

  21. Sì hǎi 四海 sometimes refers generally to all inhabitants of the inhabited world, like tiān xià 天下, and these are marginal in this group.

  [NOMINAL]; [COLLECTIVE]

• NOBLE
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [BASIC/MARGINAL]

  [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [OBJECTIVE/SUBJECTIVE]

  [OFFICIAL/INOFFICIAL]

  [PRIVATE/PUBLIC]

  1. Zūn 尊 (ant. bēi 卑 "lowly, vulgar") is the current word for publicly recognised objective nobility and high status, and the word refers to objective social status in society.

  [ELEVATED], [GRADED], [HIGH-DEGREE], [OBJECTIVE], [PUBLIC], [SOCIAL]

  2. Guì 貴 (ant. jiàn 賤 "of low character") adds to the notion of high social status that of subjectively appreciated nobility of character.

  [GRADED], [HIGH-DEGREE], [PERSONAL], [PUBLIC], [SUBJECTIVE]

  3. Gāo 高 (ant. xià 下 "of lowly status") refers to objective high position in a hierarchy.

  [OBJECTIVE], [PUBLIC], [HIGH-DEGREE]

  4. Shàng 尚 (ant. bǐ 鄙 "of vulgar status") adds to the notion of objective high position in a hierarchy the subjectively appreciated feature of admirability

  [MARGINAL], [SUBJECTIVE]

  5. Shàng 上 (ant. xià 下 "of lower status") refers occasionally to (comparative) seniority in a hierarchy.

  [HIGH-DEGREE], [OBJECTIVE], [OFFICIAL], [PUBLIC]

  6. Yòu 右 (ant. zuǒ 左 "be of relatively lower status") can occasionally refer to relative seniority within the bureaucracy.

  [GRADED], [OBJECTIVE], [OFFICIAL], [PUBLIC]

• GENERATION
  

  1. The dominant general word for a generation is shì 世, and this word has strong temporal connotations referring to the period of one generation, and the word has a certain syntactic flexibility. Sān shì 三世 refers to three generations.

  2. Dài 代 refers to the length of a whole dynasty comprising several generations, and the word in this meaning has little syntactic flexibility. Sān dài 三代 refers to three dynasties Xià, Shāng, and Zhōu. See DYNASTY

  3. Jì 紀 refers to a cycle of 12 years, sān jì 三紀 refers to a period of thirty-six years, but from Later Han times, the reference is often more generally to a generation.

  4. Tiān xià 天下 "all under Heaven" often refers generally to all people alive at a certain time.

  5. Shí rén 時人 refers specifically and prosaically to the people of the time.

• STATE
  

  1. The dominant word is guó 國, and the word naturally focusses on the capital which defines the identity of the state, but from Warring States times the word does refer to the whole of the territory, as the term guó xiāo 國削 "the state was truncated" shows.

  2. Bāng 邦 is an area-orientated old word referring to an extended state (see the early 大邦 ) without emphasising the leading role of a capital in that state, and the word was increasingly replaced by guó 國 even before taboo rules related to the name of Liú Bāng had their impact.

  3. Tǔ 土 refers to territory as such, and occasionally comes to refer to the territory of a certain state, including one's own.

  4. Fāng 方 refers to a region other than one's own state, and note particularly the old phrase 方國.

  5. Tiān xià 天下 refers to the inhabited earth construed as dominated by the emperor or Son of Heaven, but by extension the expression also refers collectively to the the central states governed by the zhū hóu 諸侯. (NOTE THAT THE EMPIRE OF CHINA WAS NOT REGARDED AS A STATE.)

  6. Guó jiā 國家 refers to the nation as a social institution dominated by a certain clan. See NATION.

  7. Yì 邑 "capital" occasionally comes to refer to the state dominated by a certain city, its capital.

• HUMBLE
  

  1. The current general word for objective low social status without any connotation concerning moral worth is bēi 卑 (ant. zūn 尊 "objectively venerable by social standards").

  2. Jiàn 賤 (ant. 貴 "objectively of high standard, but also personally and subjectively judged to deserve this high status") typically adds to the notion of objectively judged low status that of subjectively appreciated moral decrepitude.

  3. Xiǎo 小 and shào 少 (all ant. zhǎng 長 "senior") refers to relatively junior status in the bureaucratic hierarchy.

  4. Xià 下 refers to low status in absolute terms.

  5. Wēi 微 refers to a person being of low status so as to be of no substantial political or social importance. See UNIMPORTANT

  NB: One's rank wèi 位 may be said to be zūn 尊 "elevated" or bēi 卑 "lowly", but one's status as such could never be jiàn 賤.

• ARMY
  

  [ARCHAIC/CURRENT]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [IMPERSONAL/PERSONIFIED]

  [MOBILE/STATIONARY]

  [LARGE/SMALL]

  1. Bīng 兵 "armed force" focusses on the weapons ready for use and may refer to any military grouping.

  [GENERAL]

  2. Jūn 軍 is a complete army as a unit, from Spring and Autumn times onwards, normally attached to an army camp. Complete parts of an army are always jūn 軍, rarely shī 師. Hence the expressions sān jūn 三軍, zhōng jūn 中軍, shàng jūn 上軍, xià jūn 下軍. An army is counted by the number of jūn 軍 in it, where each jūn 軍 is said to be 10 000 men, at least in the Qi system. Systems have varied in different states. For detals of the early history see the monograph by KOLB.

  [IMPERSONAL], [LARGE], [OFFICIAL]

  3. Shī 師 refers generally to troops a military force on a campaign, not necessarily a complete army. ZUO Ding 4.1.6 commentators quantify an armed force as consisting of 2500 men, in one exceptional context. One often speaks of 三軍之師, never of 三師之軍. One asks for troops 請／乞師, and not for jūn 軍 which would be asking for the whole army of a friendly state. The troops of another state one uses are always shī 師 (e.g. 衛人以燕師伐鄭 ), one's own troops can be described as jūn 軍 or shī 師 almost indifferently. One offers food to the enemy shī 師, not to their jūn 軍. (HF 23.27:01) There are ruì shī 銳師 "crack troops" but no ruì jūn 銳軍 "crack army". Similarly, 楚師之良. The shī 師 may be said to hear about something 師聞之, not the jūn 軍.

  [GENERAL], [MOBILE], [PERSONIFIED!]

  4. Lu# 旅 is an archaic word for armed forces in any combatant or non-combatant function, and in ZUO Ding 4.1.6 it is quantified to consist of 500 men, and.

  [ARCHAIC], [SMALL]

  5. Duì 隊 is common in Han texts for a division in the army, the size of this division could vary, but did not exceed the hundreds. SEE ALSO BATALLION

  [SMALL]

• ADMIRE
  

  [ACTIVIY/STATE]

  [AESTHETIC/MORAL]

  [ASCENDING/HORIZONTAL/DESCENDING]

  [EMOTIONAL/RATIONAL]

  [HIGH-DEGREE/LOW-DEGREE]

  [MENTAL/OVERT]

  [OBJ=HU/OBJ=NONHU]

  [OBJECTIVE/SUBJECTIVE]

  [OVERT/COVERT]

  [PRIVATE/PUBLIC]

  1. The standard general word for admiration is mù 慕 (ant. bǐ 鄙 "hold in low esteem"), and this word often connotes emulation.

  [ASCENDING], [EMOTIONAL], [OBJ=HU], [STATE], [SUBJECTIVE]

  2. Wàng 望 refers to an intense distant admiration of some heroic or in any way especially elevated figure.

  [ACTIVITY], [ASCENDING], [HIGH-DEGREE], [OBJ=HU], [RATIONAL], [SUBJECTIVE]

  3. Yǎng 仰 (ant.* yì 易 "have no special respect for") refers to a distant veneration of some heroic or in any way especially elevated figure.

  [ACTIVITY], [ASCENDING], [HIGH-DEGREE], [OBJ=HU], [RATIONAL], [SUBJECTIVE]

  4. Shàng 尚 (ant. qīng 輕 "have no special respect for") refers to giving high practical priority to something or someone out of a sense of admiration or appreciation.

  [ACTIVITY], [ASCENDING], [OBJ=HU], [OVERT] [PUBLIC]

  5. Shàng 上 (ant. xià 下 "despise, have no special respect for") refer to giving high practical priority to something out of a sense of admiration or appreciation.

  [ASCENDING], [OBJ=NON-HU], [OBJECTIVE], [OVERT], [PUBLIC]

  6. Yòu 右 (ant. qīng 輕 "have no special respect for") refer to giving high practical priority to something or someone out of a sense of admiration or appreciation.

  [ACTIVITY], [ASCENDING], [OVERT], [PUBLIC]

  7. Měi 美 (ant. è 惡 "find despicable an dislikable") refers to an intense expressly subjective aesthetic or moral appreciation for something as admirable.

  [COVERT], [STATE], [SUBJECTIVE]

  8. Duō 多 (ant. shǎo 少 "feel no respect for") refers to an objective assessment of something as worthy of admiration.

  [COVERT], [OBJECTIVE], [RATIONAL], [STATE]

  9. Xiàn 羨 refers to rather personal and private admiration for something, and this admiration is sometimes mixed with envy.

  [COVERT], [EMOTIONAL], [STATE], [SUBJECTIVE]

• SUMMIT
  

  1. The most current general word for the topmost part of anything is probably dǐng 頂 (ant. lù 麓 "foot of mountain", * dāng 當 "bottom").

  2. Diān 顛 / 巔 (ant. xià 下 "foot (of mountain") refers most often to mountain tops, but as the graphic etymology of the original character might lead one to expect, the word can also refer to the crown of the head.

  3. Lóng 隆 (ant. bēi 卑 refers to the highest point of anything but adds the connotation of general venerability.

  4. Jí 極 and zhì 至 "ultimate point" are very abstract words referring, occasionally, to the highest point of concrete objects.

  5. Liáng 梁 refers to the ridge at the top of a mountain range.

  6. Fēng 峰 is a very rare word in pre-Buddhist Chinese and refers to the top of a high mountain.

• ZERO
  

  1. 無 x 直 means "the value of X is zero". JZ 8.8: 下無錢直 "below there is no coin value, i.e. there is zero.

  2. 虛缺　JZ 8.8 於下實虛缺矣 "below, the dividend, having been empty, now involves a lack> is negative

• BELOW
  

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/FAMILIAR]

  [+FIG/LITERAL]

  1. The standard term referring to the relatively low position of something vis-a-vis something else is xià 下 (ant. shàng 上 "above").

  [GENERAL]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Bēi 卑 (ant. gāo 高 "high, elevated") can refer to what is physically low and therefore possibly or presumbably of lower status. See mainly LOW and HUMBLE

  [+FIG]

  3. Dǐ 底 "below" (ant. dǐng 頂 "top") was late to emerge as a colloquial competitor.

  [FAMILIAR]; [[RARE]]

  4. Lù 麓 refers to the foot of a mountain, and the contrast with the many words for mountain summits is striking.

  [SPECIFIC]; [[RARE]]

Word relations
• Ant: (BELOW)上/ABOVE The standard word referring to what is above or on top is shàng 上. >>SPATIAL!, CONCRETE! 3 Attributions
• Ant: (BELOW)高/HIGH The manifestly dominant general word is gāo 高(ant. bēi 卑 "low" and xià 下 "low") which refers to concrete as well as abstract elevation. 1 Attribution
• Ant: (HUMBLE)高/HIGH The manifestly dominant general word is gāo 高(ant. bēi 卑 "low" and xià 下 "low") which refers to concrete as well as abstract elevation. 3 Attributions
• Object: (INFERIOR)問/ASK The general word is wèn 問 "open a dialogue by consulting someone with a question" (ant. duì 對 "reply to a superior") which typically refers to the consultation of a person who is supposed to know something, and typically the person to whom a question is addressed is regarded in the context as an authority though not necessarily a person of superior status. Thus the word, while extremely common, is not really a general word for "to ask". [SPECIFIC]; [[COMMOM+]] 1 Attribution
• Epithet: (HUMBLE)民/PEOPLE The dominant current general word for the people is mín 民 (ant. jūn 君 "ruler"), and this term refers to the people particularly insofar as they are ruled by a ruler or belong to a state. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (BELOW)低 / 氐/BELOW Dǐ 底 "below" (ant. dǐng 頂 "top") was late to emerge as a colloquial competitor. [FAMILIAR]; [[RARE]]
• Assoc: (RESPECT)恭 / 共/RESPECT Gōng 恭 (ant. jù 倨 "behave in an informal impolite way") refers specifically to private proper polite and respectful attitudes shown to a deserving person. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (HUMBLE)賤/HUMBLE Jiàn 賤 (ant. 貴 "objectively of high standard, but also personally and subjectively judged to deserve this high status") typically adds to the notion of objectively judged low status that of subjectively appreciated moral decrepitude.
• Assoc: (FALL)降/FALL
• Oppos: (RESPECT)崇/RESPECT Chóng 崇 and zōng 宗 refers to distant and typically religious veneration of a spirit or person very highly regarded. SHI 靡神不宗"there are no spirits which we have not honoured"
• Oppos: (EARTH)上/HEAVEN1 Attribution